Tens Of Thousands Await Announcement Of New Pope--He Is Also Head Of State

by Monica Davis

Tense of thousands of  Roman Catholics await the announcement of a new Pope.  The black smoke has poured from the chimney, signalling that a Pope has been chosen.

Now, the world watches the balcony where the new Pople will greet the world.  Already, the screams and cheers from the crowd are growing.  Newscasters find historical filler to fill in the time, as the balcony remains empty.

The next pope may embrace social media, just as Benedict Xiv did. Benedict spoke to the faithful from television, Twitter and Facebook.

News reports note the changing of the guard in the Church

The church’s 266th pontiff will replace Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation last month prompted the cardinals to initiate a conclave, a Latin phrase meaning “with a key,” to pick a new leader for the world’s almost 2 billion Catholics.

Although it’s not immediately clear who received the necessary two-thirds vote, several candidates were mentioned as front runners, including what could be the first African pope or the first pope from the U.S. or Canada. MORE

According to Wikipedia:

Vatican City ⁱ/ˈvætɨkən ˈsɪti/, or Vatican City State,^[11] in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano (pronounced [ˈstaːto della t͡ʃitˈta del vatiˈkaːno]),^[12] is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800.^[3][13] This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.

Vatican City was established as an independent state in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of Pope Pius XI and by Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.^[14] Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See,^[15] which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly inLatin. The two entities have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports. In each case very few passports are issued.

The Lateran Treaty in 1929, which brought the city-state into existence, spoke of it as a new creation (Preamble and Article III), not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870) that had previously encompassed much of central Italy. Most of this territory was absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, and the final portion, namely the city of Rome with Lazio, ten years later, in 1870.

Vatican City is an ecclesiastical^[3] or sacerdotal-monarchical^[4] state, ruled by the Bishop of Rome—the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergymen of various national origins. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope’s residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace.

The Popes have generally resided in the area that in 1929 became Vatican City since the return from Avignon in 1377, but have also at times resided in the Quirinal Palace in Rome and elsewhere. Previously, they resided in the Lateran Palace on the Caelian Hill on the far side of Rome from the Vatican. Emperor Constantine gave this site to Pope Miltiades in 313. The signing of the agreements that established the new state took place in the latter building, giving rise to the name of Lateran Pacts, by which they are known.